After India extended their unblemished World Cup record against Pakistan with a resounding victory at Manchester on Sunday, fans from the neighboure country lashed out at the team for not displaying the zeal to win and questioned their fitness levels when compared to Virat Kohli’s men.
As the fans looked for reasons to blame for the loss, a number of photos and videos emerged on social media that allegedly showed Pakistani cricketers at a Shisha café late at night before the crucial World Cup encounter.
The viral video showed Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik along with his wife and Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and other Pakistani cricketers like Wahab Riaz and Imam-ul Haq reportedly enjoying shisha at the lounge, which has been blamed as the chief reason for the defeat.
Some cricket fans claim they saw Shoaib Malik smoking shisha at 2am at the lounge on Winslow Road in Manchester, while others were having junk food, including “burgers and pizzas”.
Although having a night-out is not a crime, the reported outing just before the match has sparked anger among Pakistani fans, more so aimed at Shoaib Malik who was dismissed for a duck on the first ball he faced.
The fans also targeted Sania Mirza for Malik’s poor performance, prompting her to react angrily. She said the video was shot without permission and “people are allowed to eat even if they lose a match.”
But her explanation did not cut ice with the fans, who were in no mood to listen after Pakistan was outplayed in all three facets of the game.
In another video that has gone viral on social media, a teary-eyed Pakistani fan was heard saying that the players (Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed) & all were eating burgers before the game and that is why they lost.
He goes on to add that Pakistan players are only good for ‘dangal’ and not cricket:
Some fans also compared the Pakistani players’ preparation to that of the Indian team and tagged the video posted by Virat Kohli in the gym ahead of the match.
